Agencies, business partners, local marketers and listings management clients, it’s that time again—we have an updated report of local search ranking factors. Each time this study drops we eagerly anticipate diving into the meat of it to help us understand what other experts expect for the future, and compare their analyses with the results we see from our own work. Let’s examine what is noted as relevant and most important for local search ranking in the rapidly developing age of AI.
The 2026 Local Ranking Factors Survey Housekeeping Details
The most recent iteration of the Local Search Ranking Factors survey posted to Whitespark in November 2025 (the previous posting was in 2023). As you know, this report started up in 2008 with David Mihm, and has been the work of Darren Shaw since 2017. This year’s compilation is based on a thorough survey sent to 47 local search experts reviewing 187 factors across four major areas including the newest category, “AI Search visibility impact.”
These were scored from 0–5 and broken up into the eight groups that were ultimately ranked to understand where agencies and local marketers should focus their optimization efforts across Local Pack/Maps, Local Organic and AI Search. Of course, this is only part of the process. Your input, the elements you see working, matter for the businesses that trust you too, so let’s review the results!
Local Search Ranking Factors by Group
Below are the local search ranking factors for the three main groups. Remember, what you see from your immediate work may vary by industry or even certain categories. This is especially the case for visibility in AI, which according to Shaw has surprisingly smaller impact on local search, as Google search still dominates the field.
Visit Advice Local to [read more].
